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Saving for Retirement April 29, 2010

Posted by gmbmfb in : investing, retirement , 13comments

I started saving for retirement again. Luckily I only lost 6 weeks, but even then … with all the savings goals I have this year, I don’t think I can make that time up. But anyway, starting this Friday I’ll be putting away $300 bi-weekly.

RRSPs
$50 Money Market
$50 CDN Bond Index
$50 European Index
$50 International Index
$25 CDN Index
$25 US Index

TFSA
$25 ING Direct (3%)
$25 PC Financial (2%)

According to the pay stub I received yesterday, I’ll be bringing in approximately $1,380 bi-weekly after taxes. So my Retirement Porfolio savings represents almost 22% of my net income. And based on the TD Canada Trust RRSP calculator at an average rate of return of 7%, if I keep saving at the rate I am, I can retire at age 55 (my goal retirement age) and will have $1.1 million in my Retirement Portfolio. That doesn’t even take into consideration the fact that I would increase my savings amount with any increase in salary over the years. So I’m feeling really good about the future, and I’m so glad that I took saving for my RRSPs seriously during my 20′s.


I heart Fridays November 27, 2009

Posted by gmbmfb in : investing, retirement, sidebar totals , add a comment

Well today is pay day, so I updated the sidebars and my NetworthIQ. For the month of November, my net worth increased by 2.96%. I’m pleased about that, especially because I decided to buy out my entire private car insurance for the year (so now I only have approx. $78 payments per month for ICBC basic insurance). And that was pretty expensive.

I was also able to throw more money towards my Retirement Portfolio this month. I’m really trying to debate whether I should lower my RRSP contributions and concentrate on my TFSA. Right now about 90% of my Retirement Portfolio is in RRSPs. I’d like to build up my TFSA, but I’m having a hard time getting my head wrapped around it. Ideally I’d like to max out my TFSA each year, but it’s clearly not going to happen this year.


Happy Pay Day! September 18, 2009

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Well today is pay day (!!!). $150 went into my RRSPs, and I didn’t put $500 into my Travel Fund like I usually do. Instead, I put it on my Visa to pay off those mountaineering boots that I bought earlier this week.

I also updated my sidebars and NetworthIQ, and I’m happy to report a 5.58% increase this month. I haven’t said much about this, but BF thinks that it’s important to talk about – regarding my RRSP investments, I am now back in positive territory. It was a quick recovery for me because of a lot of different reasons (namely a good but simple strategy – buy low) … and now that I am in the black I’m looking to keep on gaining.

Also … I checked back to see what my September Monthly Goals were, and ouch. I’m not going to hit a lot of those goals. One of them was “go running 3x/week?” hahahaha I haven’t gone once this month. I think for October I’m going to stick to realistic goals, not idealistic goals.


$25k RRSP portfolio! September 11, 2009

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Hoorah! I’ve met my RRSP goal for this year of $25k (check out the sidebar). Currently I’m contributing $150 bi-weekly, and I want to increase that to $200 bi-weekly … or ideally $250. But I don’t think I can do that right now, and achieve the rest of my financial goals for the year. So instead of stopping my contributions now that I’ve reached my goal, I’ll keep going with $150 and see where that takes me.


Question: Lifelong Learning Plan & Home Buyer’s Plan September 4, 2009

Posted by gmbmfb in : investing , 1 comment so far

Dear GMBMFB Readers:

I’ve been sifting through websites, but can’t find the answer.

Can I withdraw from my RRSPs for the First Time Home Buyer’s Plan (HBP) and the Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP)?

Not necessarily at the same time.

Thanks!


Almost at my $25k RRSP goal July 24, 2009

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Okay, so the book value of my RRSPs are sitting at $24,440. The market value is $23,350. That’s not a good sign. I think that being out only $1,090 in this kind of market means that my portfolio has been way too conservative. I’ve done a lot to re-allocate my funds over the past month and I think I’ve got a good balance now. But that’s a whole other story. Right now, I want to focus on what I’m going to do when I hit my $25k RRSP goal for the year.

I am $560 away from my $25k goal (based on book value, because I don’t have any control over what the market does). My original plan was to stop contributing to retirement and re-focus that $150/bi-weekly into my Emergency Fund. That would ensure my 2009 goal of a $5,000 EF would be met.

But … the idea of not contributing to my RRSP makes me a little anxious. Especially because if you think about it, I wouldn’t be contributing to my RRSPs again until 2011. That’s a long time. Basically I’d be losing 2 years. So now, I’m not too sure what to do.

If I keep contributing, I’m not sure I’ll be able to make my $5k EF goal. And really, having cash when we come back from traveling is a must. Spending saved money while we try to find work is a more important immediate goal than saving for 30 years from now. I hate to say it, but it’s true. Because if I have to go into debt trying to support myself when we get back, then that sets me back on all of my personal finance goals.

I think a good balance might be to scale back my RRSP contributions to $100/month once I meet my goal. That’s barely anything, but it’s better than nothing. And that should free up $200/month to put into my Emergency Fund, along with my regular EF contributions of between $50-200/month.


Increasing Retirement Portfolio contributions May 5, 2009

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I’ve decided to re-allocate and increase my Retirement Portfolio contributions from $150/bi-weekly to $175/bi-weekly. Not a big increase, but every dollar counts.

My current portfolio is very very conservative, with 80% in fixed income mutual funds. Because I plan on using the First-Time Home Buyer’s Plan, I’m happy with the way I’ve been contributing over the past year.

But now that I’ve built up a good fixed income base (that I can count on when the time comes to buy my first property), I’m going to start diversifying my portfolio a little more. Especially now with the market still down.

So, here is how I’m going to make my purchases for a while:

Of course, nothing is set in stone. This is just what I’m trying out for now.


Do you remember when… March 11, 2009

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Do you remember when the TSX was closing in on 15,000?

Man, those were the days …


Now I find myself getting excited when we start hovering around 8,000.